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Saturday, January 08, 2011

Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, my Congresswoman, has been shot in the head at nearly pointblack range during a town-hall talk (Congress on the Corner) at a local Safeway (Ina and Oracle, for Tucsonans). She has been reported dead - but there is a conflicting report that she is in surgery still.

I am literally sick to my stomach - when they announced her dead on NPR it felt personal - she was MY congresswoman and some whack-job killed her and several other people just because she is a Democrat.

AZ is so fucking rightwing and so fucking in love with their damn guns . . . . The shooter had to have an automatic or semiautomatic weapon to get that many shots off so quickly. Those guns should be banned - should have been banned when Reagan was shot.

Speaker of the House John Boehner issued the following statement about today's shooting:

“I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff. An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve. Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society. Our prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured, and their families. This is a sad day for our country."

While there is no hard evidence at this point to suggest that the shooting was politically motivated, Matt Yglesias points out that an anti-Giffords event was held in June with the billing: "Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly."

Rep. Giffords was also on Sarah Palin's "target list."

As noted earlier, a gun was dropped at a Giffords event in 2009, and her office was vandalized in March.

The man was young, mid-to-late 20s, white clean-shaven with short hair and wearing dark clothing and said nothing during the shooting or while being held down. He didn't look like a businessman, but more of a "fringe character," our source said.

NPR reports that Giffords was shot at a public event at a grocery store in Tucson, Ariz. Peter Michaels of of Arizona Public Media tells NPR that at least five others, including staff, were hurt as well.